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A HISTORY OF THE DANES IN AMERICA. 



JOHN H. BILLE. 

/I 



From the Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, 
AND Letters, Vol. XI. 



\Issited March, 1S9G.] 



^ 



^ 






A HISTORY OF THE DANES IN AMERICA. 



JOHN H. BILLE, 



WITH A MAP — PLATE I. 



Of all the nationalities that have come to this country in any 
considerable number, the Danes are the ones of whom the least 
is said or known. They have taken but little part in politics, 
either national, state or local. Their religious organizations 
and institutions have attracted no attention, and their settle- 
ments seem to have been wholly lost sight of, even by the prac- 
tical politician. It is this peculiar insignificance of the Danes 
as a factor in the life of this country to which I especially wish 
to call attention in the following paper. But as the national 
characteristics, and the ideas and conditions existing in Den- 
mark, are largely responsible for the position of the Danes in 
America, it is necessary for an understanding of the subject to 
begin with a discussion of the Danes in Denmark. 

The Danes of to-day, in Denmark, though the direct descendants 
of the redoubtable vikings, possess but few of their stern, war- 
like characteristics. In fact, it is only through their fondness 
for the stories recounting the deeds of the ancient gods and 
heroes that the modern Danes show their mental kinship to the 
viking. 

Seven hundred years of peaceful occupation among the most 
peaceful of natural surroundings, together with three hundred 
years of serfdom under which the majority of the people were 
reduced to the condition of mere beasts of burden, are the main 
agencies which have made the Danish descendants of the viking 
a peace-loving, easy-going, good-natured people, with a consid- 
erable lack of self-confidence and enterprise. The political events 



2 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

in Denmark during thie present century illustrate most strik- 
ingly this non-aggressive spirit of the common people. They 
have received all their social and political liberties from the 
powers above them without violence and almost without agita- 
tion on their part; and when those liberties have been encroached 
upon they have made but little resistance. The serfdom of the 
peasant was removed in 1788 through the benevolent efforts of 
Count Bernsdorf, then an influential member of the king's cabi- 
net. In the year 1849 the king, Frederick VII., voluntarily 
relinquished his absolute power and gave his people a very lib- 
eral constitution ; but in the quarrel which has since arisen 
between the present reactionary king Christian IX. and his min- 
istry on the one hand, and the representatives of the people on 
the other, regarding the interpretation of this constitution, the 
people have made concession after concession, till at present they 
retain only a semblance of the political liberties given them 
less than half a century ago. 

Another marked peculiarity of the Danish character is a love 
for the ideal, the emotional, and the romantic. This character- 
istic shows itself in the literature, in the evervday life of the 
people, and in many of their social institutions^ But it is most 
strikingly exhibited in the remarkable influence exercised by 
N. F, S. Grundtvig on the social, political, and i-eligious life of 
the people. And as his influence has extended to this country, 
and is a prominent factor in the life of the Danes here, it is 
necessary to discuss his life and work somewhat in detail. 

N. F. S. Grundtvig was born in 1783. He was the son of a 
minister and was himself educated for the church. He was pos- 
sessed of a many-sided character, and one full of apparent 
inconsistencies; but he was pre-eminently a poet and a 
reformer, possessing the romantic temperament of the one and 
the courage, enthusiasm, and persistence of the other. 

The chief end and ambition of his life was to reform the Dan- 
ish church, which at the time he entered upon his ministry, 
1810, was given over to rationalism of the French pattern, or 
to dead meaningless formalism. He wished to bring back what 
he called old-fashioned, living Christianity and pure Luther- 
anism. At first this was not much moi'e than an implicit belief 



The Danes in Denmark. 3 

in the Bible, coupled with a pietistic philosophy of life. But 
in the course of time his belief underwent some remarkable 
changes. He dropped the idea of the Bible being an infallible 
guide, asserting that a belief in the Apostles' Creed and the 
words of the Communion service, coupled with a good Christian 
life, was all that was necessary for membership in the true 
Christian chui'ch. But in his opinion the living of a Christian 
life meant an active, sympathetic participation in all the affairs 
of life. He wished to substitute feeling and activity for doc- 
trinal discussions and formalism, and individual judgment for 
blind acceptance of a creed. Being intensely patriotic, his love 
of country became thoroughly identified with his religion. It is 
impossible, he said, to love God and not love one's fatherland and 
mother-tongue. He advanced the idea that each nation had a 
special mission to perform in the world, and had been especially 
appointed and trained by God to perform that mission. From 
the traditions and history of the Danes, he inferred that to them 
-was given the mission of reuniting all the Christian churches, 
to re-establish "peace on earth and good will toward men," the 
highest and most sacred mission of all. But in order to fulfill 
their mission, they must be true to their language and traditions ; 
and if they failed in this, God would punish them as he did the 
Israelites of old when they strayed from the path he had marked 
out for them.* 

' Grundtvig may be quoted on this subject so as to prove him to be either 
a broad-minded, liberal patriot and statesman, or a religious enthusiast 
who wishes to make the nation a mere tool in the hands of God, or a senti- 
mental, bigoted nation-worshipper. His speeches in the constitutional 
assembly of 1849 on the subjects of suffrage, freedom of religion, title and 
rank, freedom of speech, police power of the state, provisions for the poor, 
and compulsory education are instances of the first kind. (See H. Brun's 
Life of Orundtvig, Vol. 1, pp. 330-342.) 

" Heligtrekongers-Lyset," written in 1813, when the allied troops threat- 
ened an attack on Denmark, shows him as the religious enthusiast. His 
"Troste-Brev til Danmark " written after the war of 1864, his speech 
at the meeting of his friends in 1885, (see pp. 7-13 of proceedings of this 
meeting), and also his sermon, " Fredsfyrsten og Morderen," show him the 
bigot and sentimentalist. His friends have made the mistake of accepting 
every word from him as a self-evident truth, while his enemies are making 
the still greater mistake of looking at and criticising his weaker and senti- 



4 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

He himself was indefatigable in his efforts to arouse and 
strengthen the patriotic sentiment of his countrymen. He 
translated into plain modern Danish many of the old Scandina- 
vian myths, stories and ballads, and celebrated both in poetry 
and prose the deeds and prowess of the old gods and heroes. 
He addressed himself to the common people, especially to the 
peasants, for he believed that the upper classes had been so in- 
fluenced and warped by foreign, especially Gei'man, culture and 
ideas that they had almost lost their Danish character. It was 
not, however, till 1848-49 that he began to exert any decided 
influence on the common people. The war carried on at that 
time against the rebel duchies, Schleswig and Holstein, and the 
granting of the constitution, thoroughly aroused the patriotic 
spirit of the Danes. Grundtvig and his picturesque religion 
with its poetry, myth, saga, and patriotism, which he still 
claimed was old-fashioned Lutheranism, pure and simple, gained 
many adherents. A spirit of religious enthusiasm was aroused. 
Laymen began to preach and exhort, something hitherto un- 
heard-of. Home missionary societies were organized, and re- 
ligious meetings of the revival type were the order of the day. 
But the most important feature of this agitation was the estab- 
lishment of so-called peasant high schools. From the very be- 
ginning of his career Grundtvig had been strongly opposed to 
the schools of his day, with their " learning by rote of dead and 
useless facts. " He advocated the establishment of schools, the 
chief functions of which should be to inculcate religious and 
patriotic sentiment and give instruction in the practical affairs 
of life. He first tried to interest the government in his ideal. 
Failing in this, his friends raised sufficient money to enable him 
to carry out his plan independently, and in 1856 the first peasant 
high school was established in Denmark proper. Since then the 
number of these schools has steadily increased till at the pres- 
ent time they number about seventy, with an annual attendance 
of between three and four thousand students. This means a 

mental utterances, — things which he has said or written under great 
emotional pressure. His work, "Kirke-Spejl," a series of church histori- 
cal lectures given in 1863, undoubtedly gives the fairest representation of 
his views on the subject of nationality and religion. 



Tlie Danes in Denmark. 5 

great deal in a country with an area only one-fourth that of the 
state of Wisconsin, and a population of only two millions.^ 

These schools have all been built by private enterprise or 
public subscription, and they are patronized almost exclusively 
by the rural population. Religion, history, literature, and sing- 
ing are the main subjects of instruction, and the main aim is to 
develop the patriotic and religious spirit in the direction indi- 
cated by Grundtvig. Their tendency is to lay too much stress 
on the ideal and too little on the real, to cultivate the emotions 
rather than intellect. Nevertheless the effect of these schools, 
as indeed of the whole Grundtvigian agitation, has been to make 
the common people more patriotic, more appreciative of the 
higher sentiments, and less submissive to authority of any kind. 
Pastoral authority has especially suffered. Indeed it has al- 
most entirely disappeared ; a fact which partly explains the very 

' The methods adopted by the high schools are based on the supposition 
of an ideal instructor dealing with ideal pupils. Nearly all the instruction 
is given in the form of lectures, or by personal talks with the pupils. This 
is done on the theory that the living word of the teacher is much more im- 
pressive than the dead letter of any book. No qualifications for entering 
are required; no set lessons are given, no definite amount of work is as- 
signed, and there are no class recitations. The schools recognize no such 
things as examination, promotion or graduation. No other stimulus is re- 
lied upon than the personality of the teacher and the student's love for the 
work in hand. As might be expected, this method is not conducive to any 
very intense intellectual activity. In fact, there is such an apparent lack of 
effort and concentration on the part of the students in these schools that an 
American schoolmaster, even if he were a Herbartian, would be likely to 
pronounce the whole procedure a farce. The following is a sample of the 
work as observed by the writer at the Rodkilde high school on the island 
of Moen, 1892: A class of about fifty were comfortably seated in a large, 
pleasant room, each one engaged in some work of knitting or crocheting. 
They were rattling needles and silently passing judgments upon their work 
and that of their neighbors; while the teacher was sitting at his desk, de- 
livering a lecture upon the geography of Denmark. In arithmetic these 
same young ladies were all working at their seats on slates, each one from 
some different part of the text book. If they succeeded in working the 
problem in hand'to their own satisfaction, they took hold of the next; if 
unable to work it they went to the teachers, who were sitting at desks at 
one end of the room. The teacher showed them how to solve the problem 
and sent them to their seats to work as before. 



6 Bille — A History of the Danes in America, 

slight influence which the Danish ministers in this country have 
on their countrymen. In fact, the whole beautiful religious 
machinery devised by the state has been put out of gear by this 
agitation ; and the established Lutheran church, or the church of 
the people, as it is called, though it claims the allegiance of 
more than ninety-nine per cent, of the Danes, after all is only 
a name which three different factious are each trying to appro- 
priate to itself. These are the old-fashioned strict doctrinari- 
ans, the Grundtvigians, and the Inner Mission society. The 
first of these three want things to go on in the old, formal way, 
with religion confined within the church walls and consisting 
mostly of a strict interpretation of dry theological points by 
the regularly ordained minister. yThe Grundtvigians and the 
Inner Mission people agree in making religion a part of every- 
day life and every man's concern. But the Grundtvigians are 
thorough-going optimists. They call themselves the happy 
Christians, take part in all the pleasures and activities of life 
with the greatest zest, and concern themselves but little about 
doctrinal points. The Inner Mission people are thorough-going 
pietists; they call themselves the holy ones, and profess to 
despise all worldly pleasures. They insist on absolute belief of 
total depravity, and literal belief in the Bible.' And in spite 

' The Inner Mission society was established in 185i, It was the out- 
growth of the Grundtvigian agitation, and the early leaders, who were all 
laymen, were adherents of Grundtvig's, but with pietistic tendencies. In 
1861 "^Ihelm Beck, a minister of the established church, was elected presi- 
dent of the society, which, at that time, had but little influence and no 
"•Wgular working force. But undor his leadership it has become the most 
powerful agency in the country for stimulating and maintaining religious 
interest. According to the report of the society for 1895 it owned eighty- 
seven missicn-houses, insured at $101,500. Its income for the year was 
$27,395, nearly all gifts. It employed ninety-six regular missionaries, and 
counted as its supporters about two hundred of the ministers of the estab- 
lished church and a large number of the teachers of the public schools; 
16,000 public religious meetings had been held during the year. It must 
be remembered that all this is carried on aside from the regular work of 
the established church, to which all the Inner Mission people profess to be- 
long. The missionaries are working somewhat according to old apostolic 
methods. They are sent out t vo by two, and go from house to house ex- 
horting, preaching, and selling religious tracts. When a community has 



Tlie Danes in Denmark. 7 

of the fact that the two factions have a common origin, they are 
irreconcilably opposed to each other; and the antagonism between 
them is becoming more mai'ked every year, furnishing any 
amount of material for quarrels within church circles, both in 
Denmark and among the Danes iu this country. Indeed, the 
ideas held by the Grundtvigians and Inner Mission society have 
had a decisive influence on the destiny of the Danes in America 
as a separate nationality./yNo other questions, save those of an 
industrial nature, can lay any such claim to the attention of the 
Danish public as do these. Politically the Danes are all at sea. 
There is no sti'ong party with any definite policy, and the senti- 
ment in favor of larger political liberty has become dormant 
among the common people through the long losing struggle they 
have carried on against the government. The sentiment of 
patriotism and national pride too is waning, except among the 
Grundtvigians, and a feeling of national helplessness is becoming 
dominant. " We are a small people, capable only of small 
things " has come to be almost a national motto. ^ 

To summarize: The Danes of to-day are a good-natured, easy- 
going people, somewhat lacking in self-confidence and tnterprise, 
and possessing no sti-ong national ambition and no national insti- 
tution which can lay claim to their undivided homage; this leaves 
them without any strong bond of union when removed from the 
mother country. Though as a nation they have a fair propor- 
tion of hard-fisted, matter-of-fact individuals, they are never- 
theless largely influenced by sentiment and ideals. 

In dealing with the emigrant, however, a new factor enters 
in, for emigration is a sifting process, and the emigrant differs 
in many respects from the people of his class who remain at 
home, and he therefore cannot be judged by the general national 
characteristics. He is more enterprising, more of a matter-of- 

been thoroughly canvassed by the missionaries, public meetings are held 
at which some of the abler speakers are present. Then Sunday schools for 
children are organized, or religious clubs for the older people, through which 
the agitation is continued. The effect aimed at is identical with that of 
revivalists in this country, though the success attained in Denmark is more 
lasting. 

1 The disastrous war of 186i with the Prussians and Austrians has done 
much to depress the national spirit. 



8 



Bille — A JSistory oj the Danes in America. 



fact man. At any rate his love of personal advantage is liable 
to be greater than his love of country, home and friends, for he 
is willing to part with them to better his fortune. He does 
not as a rule leave his native land because he suffers actual want 
there, but most usually because he feels unable to maintain 
what he considers a proper standard of life; and it is only in 
cases where emigration is prompted by religious or political 
persecution that he is liable to be a man of as much patriotic 
sentiment as those who stay at home.' The record of the Danes 
in America furnishes a most striking illustration of this theory; 
indeed it is impossible to otherwise explain their peculiar indif- 
ference toward all that might connect them with the land of their 
birth. 

THE DANES IN AMERICA. 

The emigration from Denmark has been more recent and the 
number of emigrants smaller than from the other Scandinavian 
countries.^ 





Norwegians. 


Swedes. 


Danes. 


1860 

1870 

1880 

1890 


43,995 
114,243 
181,724 
322,665 


18,625 

97,a32 

194,337 

478,041 


9,962 

30,098 

64, 196 

132,543 



The fact that emigration from Denmark began so late and 
never assumed any considerable proportions would naturally 

'An extended inquiry among my own countrymen who have emigrated, 
and among those in the same circumstances in Denmark, bears out this 
theory. In answer to my question to the former, " Why did you emigrate? " 
the invariable answer was, " I did not want to be a common laborer in my 
own country," or " I did not care to live such a life of drudgery and pov- 
erty as my parents lived; I can't do worse in America, and I may do bet- 
ter; " while my question to the latter, " Why do you not emigrate? " was 
answeted as follows: " I can't bear the thought of leaving home with the 
chance of never coming back again," " I can't get any pleasure out of life 
in any other place," or " I would like to go, but when I think of all the 
dangers and troubles of it I feel I might as well stay at home, and take 
what little comfort I can get out of life here," 

• The cause of the smaller emigration from Denmark than from Norway 
and Sweden is undoubtedly due mainly to the better economic conditions 



Formation of Settlements. 9 

tend to make the social and religious organizations of the Danes 
smaller and weaker than those of the Norwegians and Swedes. 
But this fact does not account for the difference existing, es- 
pecially between the Danes and Norwegians, in the matter of 
forming settlements, supporting churches and schools, and gen- 
eral social and political co-operation, — a difference so striking 
that it must of necessity unsettle the present belief in the simi- 
larity of character of these nationalities. 

The Norwegians, according to their number, show a stronger 
tendency to concentrate in large settlements on account of 
preference for their own countrymen, than any other European 
nationality, while the Danes go almost to the other extreme in 
this matter. The table below is an attempt at showing in figures 
the correctness of this statement. In the second column the 
highest percentage in any one state is given, because state 
lines, though not always physical barriers, nevertheless act as 
a check to close co-operation, especially in a political way. Be- 
sides, in the minds of the people in Europe, the state stands for a 
compact piece of territory of a limited extent, and with this notion 
is naturally associated the idea of easy and close communication 
among those living within the state. For these reasons, the im- 
migrants who concentrate largely in one state show thereby a 
desire for remaining in touch with their own nationality. 

The numbers in the third column, indicating the percentage 
in settlements of more than five hundred, are obtained by add- 
ing the numbers of persons of a given nationality in counties 
where five hundred or more of this nationality are found, and 



existing in the former country. In fact, want is a thing almost wholly un- 
known in Denmark. The condition of the common people has been im- 
proving rapidly and almost constantly during the present century. At the 
beginning of the century the land was nearly all in the hands of the nobil- 
ity, while at present only one-seventh of it is in their possession, the rest 
of it being in the hands of the peasants, who constitute the bulk of the 
population. (H. Weitemeyer, Denmark, p. 100.) Besides this, the im- 
proved methods of cultivation have increased the productive power of the 
country nearly ten-fold. No such decided change in property-holding or 
in producing power has taken place in Norway or Sweden, while the popu- 
lation has been increasing as rapidly in these countries as in Denmark. 



10 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

finding what per cent, this sum is of the whole number of per- 
sons of that nationality in the United States. The number five 
hundred is taken, because in counties containing a lesser number 
of persons of a given nationality, as a rule, no settlement will be 
found sufficiently large to maintain in a vigorous condition the 
social and religious life of the mother country, heace a nation 
with a large percentage in this column shows proof of a desire 
to concentrate on a basis of nationality. 

The percentages in column four for contiguous territory are 
based on the fact that where more than five hundred of a given 
nationality are found in adjoining counties they form in many 
respects one settlement, because they are able to co-operate 
in the maintaining of churches and schools, and other rela- 
tions of a social nature which they can only have with their 
own countrymen. Therefore a high percentage in this column 
also shows a desire for concentration on the basis of nationality. 
The percentages in column five for cities of more than twenty- 
five thousand inhabitants are given, because a nationality largely 
represented in these cities may have a high percentage in col- 
umn three on account of a liking for city life, rather than from 
any special desire to form settlements for the sake of living 
with their own people. It is the rural settlement which shows 
the national preference most strongly; for the formation of 
large settlements of this kind in a country as extensive as the 
United States necessitates a strong motive for so doing, and a 
definite plan. Therefore a nationality with a low percentage in 
column five, and high percentages in columns two, three and four, 
shows the strongest tendency to form settlements for the sake 
of associating with fellow-countrymen. But the emigrants of 
a nationality which fails in forming rural settlements to any 
extent, and does not concentrate largely in cities, show the least 
desire for association with their own people because they do not 
find such association by accident, as is the case with those 
nationalities which prefer city life, nor by preconcerted plan, as 
do those who form large rural settlements. From the table, the 
Norwegians are thus seen to lead in the matter of forming settle- 
ments, while only the French can be said to be in any way less 
forward in this regard than are the Danes; and these two pec 



Formation of Settlements. 



11 



pies, therefore, show the lowest concentrating tendency of all 
the European emigrants to this country. 





I, 


II. 


III. 


IV. 


V. 




Total in 


Highest 


Percentage 
in settle- 


Percentage 


Percentage 

in cities of 

more than 

25,000. 




United 


percentage 


ments con- 


in contigu- 




States. 


in one state. 


taining more 
than 500. 


ous territory. 


Norway . . 


322,665 


31 


80 


56. 6 


20.78 


Sweden . . 


478,041 


20.9 


79.6 


22.2 


31.24 


Holland. . 


81,828 


36.07 


72.6 


31.3 


33.54 


Poland . . 


147,440 


19.7 


72.2 


10.3 


57.11 


Bohemia . 


118, 106 


22.5 


85.4 


21.4 


48.32 


Denmark . 


1.32,543- 


.10.]- 


~ 47 


- 8.1 


- 23.24 


Belgium. . 


22,6.39 


20.1 


34.7 


16.5 


22.30 


France . . 


113, 174 


18 


14.3 


14.3 


45.69 


Wales . . . 


100,079 




52 


25.4 


25.80 


Scotland . 


242,231 




56.8 


12 


41.25 



I have omitted the English, Irish, Austrians, Hungarians and 
Italians because these nationalities have settled in such large 
numbers in the eastern cities, especially in New York, a fact 
which would run up their percentage in columns three and four 
enormously, while it by no means is an indication of the desire 
or ability of these nationalities to form settlements. 

The Germans and Swiss I have omitted because both of these 
nationalities are made up of elements differing more from each 
other in language, religion, and race characteristics than do the 
people of the Scandinavian countries. So if the former should 
be classed as one nationality then the Scandinavians should also 
be classed together as one nationality, as has so often been done 
in national and state census. 

The contiguous territory from which the figures in column four 
are obtained is: — for the Norwegians, the western tier of coun- 
ties in Wisconsin, with extensions eastward in the north and south ; 
the eastern, southern and western tiers of counties in Minnesota; 
the northern tier of counties in Iowa; and the eastern in North 
and South Dakota. It may be said that roughly the eastern, 
southern and western boundary lines of Minnesota form the 
center of this settlement. The Swedish settlement extends 
through the northern peninsula of Michigan, along the northern 



12 



Bille — A History of the Danes in America, 



tiers of counties in Wisconsin, and directly across the state of 
Minnesota at about the latitude of St. Paul. This settlement is 
not nearly as compact as the Norwegian. 

The Hollanders have established their largest settlement in 
the southwestern part of the southern peninsula of Michigan. 
The Polanders and Bohemians have their largest settlements in 
the city of Chicago. The Belgian settlement is located about 
Green Bay, Wisconsin. France and Scotland have their settle- 
ments in and about the city of New York. The Welsh settle- 
ment includes the following counties in Pennsylvania: Carbon, 
Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northampton, arid Schuylkill. 

This tendency of the Norwegians to concentrate, and of the Danes 
to scatter, is not of recent origin; for ever since the Norwegians 
have commenced to emigrate in any considerable numbers they 
have been as closely or even more closely concentrated than they 
are at present; while the Danes have been more widely scattered 
than they are now, as will be seen from the following tables: 

Norwegians.'^ — Greatest number in four states. 





1850. 


1860. 


1870. 


1880. 


1890. 


Total in United States 

Illinois .... 

Wisconsin ^ . . . 

Minnesota 

Iowa 


12, 778 
2,500 
8,000 


43,995 

4,891 

21,442 

8,425 
5,688 


114,243 
11,880 
40,046 
35,940 
17,554 


181,729 
16,970 
49,349 
62,521 

21,586 


322,665 
30,339 
65,666 

101,199 
27,078 




Danes. — Greatest number 


in four states. 






1860. 


1870. 


1880. 


1890. 


Total in U. S. 
New York . 
Wisconsin . 
Utah. . . 
California . 


9,962 
1,196 
1,150 
1,824 
1,328 


Illinois . 
Wisconsin . 
Iowa . 
Utah . . , 


30,098 
3, 711 
5,212 

2,827 
4,957 


Illinois . 
Wisconsin. 
Iowa . 
Utah . . 


64, 196 
6,029 
8,797 
6,901 
6,071 


132,543 
12,044 
13,885 
15,519 
14,133 



' As the Norwegians were not given separately by counties in U. S. cen- 
sus before 1890, it is impossible to obtain any definite statistics on this point 
until 1890. 

'O. M. Nelson, History of Scandinavians in America, p, 134. 



Formation of Settlements. 13 

From the above tables it will be seen that the Norweo-ians 
concentrated from the beginning in the four adjacent states, 
Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa; while the Danes were 
scattered across the whole width of the continent. From the 
parochial reports of the Norwegian church in America it appears 
that their settlements were about as large and compact in the 
fifties and early sixties as they are now; while as late as 1870 
there were only five cities and six counties in the United 
States in which five hundred or more Danes could be found. 
These were : New York ; Chicago and Rock Island, Illinois ; Racine 
and Waupaca, Wisconsin; and Winnebago county, Wisconsin; 
Douglas county, Nebraska; and four counties in Utah where they 
had been massed by the Mormon church. 

From this it is plain that the present concentration of the 
Norwegians is not due to accident, nor to the fact that they 
have been longer in this country than the Danes ; nor is it 
because the conditions in the four states, Illinois, Wiscon- 
sin, Minnesota and Iowa, are more congenial to the Norwe- 
gians than to the Danes. The opposite might seem to be the 
the case, for the climate, productions, and occupations in these 
states are more like those existing in Denmark than in Norway. 

There can be only one possible explanation of this difference be- 
tween the Danes and Norwegians, — that the Danes who emigrate 
have less love of their native land and its institutions, less na- 
tional pride, than the Norwegians, and therefore less desire to 
concentrate. 

That such is the case is shown not only in the settlements of 
the two nationalities, but also in the manner each has supported 
the church of the mother country. 

The first Norwegian church society in America was organized 
about 1850, when there were only a little more than 12,000 Nor- 
wegians in this country; and before this time several local con- 
gregations had been organized with their own ministers and 
churches. 

The first Danish church society was organized in 1872, when 
there were more than 30,000 Danes in the United States; and be- 
fore this time there was not a single purely Danish congrega- 
tion with a Danish minister. It is true that some of fhe Danes 




14 



Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 



had at this time associated themselves with Norwegian and 
Swedish churches ; but though no statistics can be had on this 
point, it is quite safe to say that not more than five per cent, 
of the Danes in this country were in this way associated with 
the Lutheran church. 

The following table of percentages of the Norwegians and 
Danes in America who belonged to the church of the mother 
country, 1860-90, shows more clearly still the difference exist- 
ing between them on this point: 





Norwegians. 


Danes. 


1860 


30.2 




1870 


34.1 


. . . 


1880 


53.2 


G.3 


1890 


58.9 


10.1 



In connection vvith this it must be borne in mind that there 
have always been some Danes within the Norwegian church; but 
if these should all return to the Danish church it would not de- 
crease the Norwegian by more than two per cent., nor increase 
the Danish by more than five per cent. 

That the Danish church society should be small would naturally 
be expected from the fact that the settlements were insignificant 
and much scattered; but this certainly can not be assigned as 
a reason for the indifference which the people actually within 
the church have shown towards it and the institutions it has fos- 
tered. On this point the difference between the Norwegians and 
Danes is as striking as that shown by the percentages of settle- 
ments and church members. 

The Norwegian ministers, especially in the beginning, had al- 
most autocratic control over their congregations ; while the Dan- 
ish ministers, with very few exceptions, had to submit meekly to 
whatever terms their congregations saw fit to impose upon them. 
The only power they possessed was the power of advice, and 
they had to use that with considerable discretion in order to keep 
their positions.^ 

' But few of them have kept their positions for any length of time. The 
majority do not average more than five years in a place, and they usually 
leave because of some misunderstanding with their congregations. 



CJiurches and Schools. 15 

When the Norwegian ministers have gotten into a theological 
dispute, of which they have had many, their parishioners have 
invariably taken up the quarrel ; and that they were in earnest 
about it is shown fi'om the fact that they were, as a rule, willing 
to split up their congregations and go to the expense of building 
a separate church and of employing a separate minister. But 
among the Danes there is only one case on record of this kind, 
and in that case one of the factions was under the leadership of 
a Norwegian minister.^ 

The Norwegians have as a rule had more than twice as many 
parochial school teachers as they have had ministers and in the \ 
majority of their congregations parochial school has been held \ 
during some part of the year. In this line the Danes have done 
practically nothing. 

But it is in the matter of contributions for educational pur- 
poses that the difference between the Norwegians and Danes is 
apparent. During the five years, 1860-65, the Norwegians \ 
contributed for the erection of the Decorah college as much 1 
as three dollars per communicant. Several times since then they j 
have equaled or exceeded this contribution ; and at present there 
are in connection with the Norwegian church sixteen colleges 
and academies, one of which, that at Decorah, Iowa, ranks with 
any of the American colleges in the West for the thoroughness 
of its course and the scholarship of its graduates. In 1892, these 
schools were attended by 2,160 students, nearly all of Norwegian 
parentage; and in all the schools great stress was laid on the 
teaching of the English language and other English branches. 

' This congregation is located in Montcalm county, Michigan. It might 
be argued that the Danish congregations do not split up because they are 
too small to maintain two separate churches. This is undoubtedly true in 
Bome cases, but the Montcalm congregation separated during the '70's, when 
it was no larger in its entirety than some of the factions created by 
the split of 1893 between the Grundtvigians and Inner Mission people. 

During the summer of 1894 while visiting the Danish settlements in Polk 
county, Wisconsin, and Montcalm connty, Michigan, I took special pains to 
find out the sentiment of the laymen on this quarrel, and the majority ex- 
pressed themselves in favor of peace. In fact, none of them were clear as to 
what the quarrel was about. Several times my inquiries were answered in 
this manner: "We are ashamed of our ministers for quarreling, as they 
ought to know better." 






16 Bille—A History of the Danes in America. 

During no consecutive five years up to 1894 had the Danes 
succeeded in raising as much as fifty cents per communicant for 
educational purposes ; and the educational results attained by 
them are even more insignificant than the contributions.' 

There can be no doubt that this lukewarmness among the 
members of the Danish church in America is in a large measure 
due to the factional quarrels in the church in Denmark. The 
immigrants in this country who are of a religious turn of mind 
still find it difficult to agree on any settled church policy, be- 
cause they belong to different factions; and besides this, they have 
all been thoroughly weaned from any reverence for pastoral 
authority by the agitation carried on by the Grundtvigians and 
Inner Mission people in Denmark. Each man considers himself 
an authority on doctrine and church policy, and gives but little 
heed to the opinions and wishes of the minister, unless these 
coincide with his own. But in order to get a fair appreciation 
of the causes and effects of this failure of the Danish church in 
America it is necessary to give a somewhat detailed history of 
this institution. Indeed, the history of the Danes in this country, 
as a distinct nationality, is most intimately associated with the 
history of the church; for, in spite of its weakness and its fail- 
ure to gain the support of the Danes, its policy has had a very 
decided influence on the social, religious, and educational con- 
\ ditions of the Danish settlements. 

THE DANISH CHURCH IN AMERICA. 

The first step toward the formation of a Danish church in 
America was taken by the organization of a society in Den- 
mark, 1869, for the purpose of doing missionary work among 
the Danes in America. This society was composed almost en- 
tirely of Grundtvigians. Its work consisted mainly in select- 
ing and training ministers for Danish congregations in America, 
and in acting as an advisory council to such ministers and con- 
gregations. 

In October, 1872, three representatives of this society, A. 
Dan, N. Thomsen, R. Andersen, together with several Danish 

' This subject will be treated more in detail under the head of the educa- 
tional efforts of the Danish church in America. 



Organization of Churches. 17 

laymen, met in Neenah, Wisconsin, and organized the Danish 
Mission Society, the name of which was later changed to the 
Danish Lutheran Church in America. This society adopted a 
confession of faith of a decided Grundtvigian trend, but de- 
clared its intention to work in the manner of the Inner Mission 
society in Denmark, and to remain in close connection with the 
mother church. 

Arrangements were made for the publication of a paper, 
Kirkelig Samler, " for Christian and popular education and 
edification." Much stress was laid on the fact that the society 
did not intend in any way to oppose other Lutheran church 
organizations. In spite of this, trouble arose immediately be- 
tween the Danish Mission society and the Norwegian church 
societies previously established. The trouble was due mainly to 
a competition between the two factions, for the Danish church 
members. It was but natural that the Danish society should 
desire to get all the Danes within its fold, and it was just as 
natural that the Norwegians should be anxious to keep all the 
members they already had. But the point at issue was the 
Grundtvigian doctrine, which the Norwegian societies had pre- 
viously declared rank heresy. The struggle was a long and bit- 
ter one, with the usual and mutual accusations of heresy, lying 
and treachery. The outcome of it all was that the Danes suc- 
ceeded in getting the larger number of the Danish congregations 
already established. But many of these had become much 
divided in sentiment during the struggle, and there were but 
few places where the Danish ministers received unqualified sup- 
port. The Norwegian ministers had succeeded in arousing a sus- 
picion among the Danish laity that the Grundtvigian doctrine 
was unsound and dangerous, a suspicion which was one of the 
causes that later brought about the split of the Danish church 
into the two factions, the Grundtvigian and the Inner Mission. 

In spite of this quarrel the Danish church seemed to prosper 
in the beginning. Already in 1873 it counted 1,020 paying 
members, 1,6 00 communicants and five ministers. In 1877 it 
had 1,934 paying members, 3,533 communicants and 17 minis- 
ters. But the situation was not as favorable as these figures 
seem to indicate, for this rapid growth was largely due to the 
2 



18 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

acquisition of congregations previously in charge of Norwegian 
ministers. And in most congregations there was an active mi- 
nority opposed to the new order of things; while even among 
the ministers themselves considerable difference of opinion ex- 
isted on the points of doctrine, and church policy. The Grundt- 
vigians, however, were decidedly in the majority, and wholly 
determined the church policy, which was directed chiefly towards 
the maintenance of Danish language and sentiment, and the pecu- 
liar religious ideas of Grundtvig. The first step in this direc- 
tion was to make the church in America a part of the Banish 
national church. At the annual church meeting of 1873 the fol- 
lowing resolution was unanimously adopted: "We, the Danish 
ministers and congregations, hereby declare ourselves to be a 
branch of the Danish National Church, a missionary department 
established by that church in America. " That this union was 
also considered seriously in Denmark, is shown from the fact 
that two graduates from the theological department of the Uni- 
versity of Copenhagen, I. A. Heiberg and H. Rosenstand, on re- 
ceiving calls from congregations in this country, were ordained 
by one of the bishops of the Danish church, and appointed by 
the king as regular ministers in that church.' There were, how- 
ever, but few men qualified for holding the ministerial office in 
the church in Denmark, who could be persuaded to go to Amer- 
ica; the small salary, the uncertainty of tenure of office, and the 
minister's lack of social prestige, all acted as checks in this 
direction. In order to supply ministers for this new field, a de- 
partment was established at the Askov High School, a school of 
the Grundtvigian type, located in the south part of Jutland, for 
the preparation of ministers to American congregations. It was 
thought a great advantage to have the ministers trained in Den- 
mark, as they would then be in the closest possible touch with 
the mother church and all that was Danish, and thus be better 
prepared to preach the doctrines of that church, and re-enforce 

' This union was further recognized by the Danish government, by an 
annual appropriation of $840, made for the first time in 1884, for the train- 
ing of ministers for the American branch of the Danish church. This 
money was at first expended in Denmark, but since 1887 it has been sent to 
this country, and expended here in aid of poor theological students. 



Organization of Churches. 



19 



the waning Danish spirit in America. Nearly all of these men 
had the merest rudiments of an education when beginning their 
work at Askov,mostof them being farmers, mechanics, and com- 
mon laborers, of a pious bent of mind. The course usually ex- 
tended over but two years, and was limited almost wholly to 
theological studies. As might be expected, the men thus trained, 
on arriving in America were almost wholly ignorant of the 
language and conditions here, in fact, ignorant of nearly 
everything excepting a few theological arguments and church 
ceremonies. Even to-day not half a dozen of the sixty or more 
ministers of this church can converse fluently in English, to say 
nothing about preaching a sermon in that language. As a rule, 
they know nothing and care nothing about the social and polit- 
ical conditions' here. As far as matters of this world are con- 
cerned, they are in truth blind leaders of the blind, or rather of 
the half-seeing, for many of their parishioners are much better 
posted on what goes on around them than are the ministers. 
Their methods of carrying on the business of the church are proof 
positive of their entire lack of all training and sense for practi- 
cal affairs of life. They labored from 1878 till 1891, on a church 
constitution, without producing anything but dissension among 
themselves. In the matter of incorporation they succeeded no 
better, for though they worked nearly fifteen years on this ! 
problem the society was never properly incorporated, and none j 
of them seemed to know how to proceed in the matter, or why / 
they failed. Yet they all seemed anxious to comply with the 
law. Their parochial reports are very defective, and during 
some years were entirely omitted. In these reports no atten- 
tion is paid to the educational work, nor is any regular account 
given of receipts and expenditures of money.' In annual meet- 
ings they seldom had any order either in business or debate, n. 
They would often discuss a subject for hours, and drop it with- i 
out voting upon it. Four or five speakers might follow each 



' No complete and comprehensive report of the receipts and expenditures 
of the churches has ever been published. In this the Danish differ 
greatly from the Norwegian churches, which, with exception of the Hau- 
gians, have always published very elaborate statistics of all the activities 
of the church each year. 



V 



20 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

other, each one talking on a different subject, and paying no 
attention to the remarks of the previous speaker. It was sel- 
dom that any definite plan was adopted for doing the business 
of the society, and when a plan or regulation was finally adopted 
it was seldom followed out in action. There is even a case on 
record where it was voted, seventeen to six, to discontinue a 
certain discussion. The discussion was still carried on for an 
hour or more, without any break other than was necessary to 
take the vote to discontinue.' In spite of all this chaos a num- 
ber of projects, besides the union with the mother church, have 
been set on foot for carrying out the Grundtvigian pet idea of 
creating a little Denmark in the United States. The most im- 
portant of these are: (1) The establishment of Grundtvigian 
high schools and parochial schools. (2) The planting of col- 
onies. (3) The organization of a society for the maintenance of 
Danish sentiment and language. 

THE HIGH SCHOOL, 

This subject comes to the front for the first time at the 
annual meeting at Chicago, 1876. Though no definite action 
was taken in the matter, the discussion brought out very de- 
cided differences of opinion in regard to what ought to be done. 
Both sides were agreed that something ought to be done by the 
church to educate the young, and that the main object should 
be to make good Lutherans; but the Grundtvigians maintained 
that this could be done, as far as the Danes were concerned, only 
through the Danish language and by appealing to the Danish 
sentiment and memories, — while the opposition insisted that 
the old ballads played no part in the scheme of salvation, and 
that as a matter of fact the children born in this country had 
no Danish memories and sentiments;- but this latter was the 
opinion of only two men, N. Thomsen and Lilleso, and had at 
the time no influence in deciding the course to be pursued. 
After considerable more discussion and delay it was finally de- 
cided, at the annual meeting of 1878, this time without opposi- 
tion, to establish a Grundtvigian high school. It was supposed 

'Kirkelig Samler, 1884, p. 497, 
2/(Z., 1876, p. 296. 



Danish High Schools, 21 

that the necessary money could be raised by gifts, principally 
from the Danes in America, and each minister present at the 
meeting undertook the task of soliciting money from his congre- 
gation for the purpose. The Danish settlement at Elk Horn, 
Shelby county, Iowa, was chosen as the place of location ; and 
Olav Kirkeberg, a Norwegian, but (me of the ministers of the 
Danish church and a staunch Grundtvigian, undertook the task 
of building and conducting the school. No better man could be 
found for the purpose, for Kirkeberg had the courage of his con- 
victions and unlimited faith in the success of his undertaking. 
These, in fact, according to his own statements, were nearly the 
only resources at his command when he began putting up the 
building which he estimated would cost two thousand dollars. 
On June 8, 1878, he wrote: "I have bought stones, for the 
foundation of the school; that took all the cash I had. In a 
couple of weeks the carpenters are coming; then I shall need 
five hundred dollars for lumber, while I am not sure of more 
than two hundred. Though the outlook is not very encouraging, 
I feel hopeful in the matter; because I am convinced this work 
will be a benefit to man and an honor to God, and therefoi'e it 
must prosper. " ' Though continually embarrassed financially he 
still had the building completed by November, 1878, the time 
originally set for opening the school. The work as previously 
announced consisted of studies in general history, with special 
reference to the three Scandinavian countries; a review in 
Scandinavian mythology; lectures on the most important epochs 
in the history of the Christian church; history of literature, 
with the readings from the works of the best Scandinavian 
authors; studies in the mother tongue (Danish), including com- 
position ; English, including reading, practice in letter- writing, 
and business forms; science, including physiology, physics, and 
chemistry; geography; singing; and United States history. ^ 
All the instruction, excepting lectures on United States history 
and geography and the study of the English language, was con- 
ducted in Danish. The whole programme was to be carried 
out in the course of five months, with students coming directly 

'Kirkelig Samler, 1878, p. 237. 
""Ibid., 1878, p. 320. 



22 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

from the farm and the workshop, having had little previous in- 
tellectual training. This latter fact, however, would not neces- 
sarily interfere much with the progress of the work, for most of 
the instruction was given in the form of lectures, requiring but 
little response or individual effort on the part of the student. 
It was a sort of five months University Extension course minus, 
the University professors. 

The faculty consisted of three men, Olav Kirkeberg, Christian 
Ostergaard, and Mr. Grouse. Kirkeberg and Ostergaard had 
received the greater part of their education at Grundtvigian 
schools in Denmark, the latter coming directly fi^om Denmark 
to his work at Elk Horn. Mr. Grouse was an American with 
some knowledge of law, and was engaged at a regular salary of 
thirty-five dollars a month. His work consisted in lecturing on 
•United States history and constitution, and giving instruction 
in English composition, reading, and business forms. 

That everything was done to foster the Danish ideas and 
sentiments, and little attention was paid to the language and 
history of this country, is plainly shown in Kirkeberg's report 
of the first year's work. He says: " We found that some of 
our students had come mainlj^^ for the purpose of acquiring a 
knowledge of the English branches, but most of them failed to 
get the full benefit of Mr. Grouse's instruction because of their 
lack of knowledge of the English language. Besides, it was as 
though the mother-tongue, and the subjects taught therein, won 
the hearts more and more, and the preference which some at 
first gave to the English branches gradually disappeared. That 
young men can thus be touched by things considered most es- 
sential by the high schools both in Denmark and Norway, indi- 
cates that the cause for which we are working in this country 
will prosper. " ' On this point, however, he was mistaken, for 
his enthusiasm and that of his fellow Grundtvigians was not 
shared by the rest of the Danes in America, and no effort on 
their part could arouse such enthusiasm. Neither money nor 
pupils were forthcoming for the support of the school. By Jan- 
uary 1, 1879, only eleven hundred four dollars' had been col- 

^Kirkelig Samler, 1879, p. 217. 
^Ibid., 1879, p. 60. 



Danish High Schools. 23 

lected for the building and support of the high school. The 
school was at that time under a debt of seven hundred fifty- 
dollars, and had reached the limit of its credit, and was still 
far from being well equipped. "When the school opened Novem- 
ber 1, 1878, only nine of the sixteen students expected were on 
hand, and the total attendance during the five months' course was 
only nineteen. The money received in board and tuition, four- 
teen dollars per month for each student, scarcely sufficed to pay- 
running expenses, to say nothing about the salaries of Kirkeberg 
and Ostergaard. 

During the next year the contribution ceased altogether; the 
debt increased to a thousand dollars; while there was no increase 
in attendance. In 1880, Kirkeberg, after having expended a 
good deal of money on the school, reached the limit of his credit 
and that of the school, and was obliged to abandon the enterprise, 
broken in health, but still hoping and praying for its success, 
which he considered of the utmost importance to the welfare of 
the Danes in this country. The school now became the sole 
property of the Danish church society, and managed to struggle 
on with several changes of administration and ownership, as a 
Grundtvigian high school, till 1890. During all this time the 
attendance had not averaged forty students a year. It had never 
received any regular money support from the church, and on the 
whole its existence had been a most precarious one. Strangely 
enough, the failure of this school, situated as it is in the midst 
of the largest Danish settlement in the United States, did not 
deter the Grundtvigians from establishing similar schools in 
places much less favorable. In the course of the next ten years 
four more such schools were established, one in Ashland, 
Michigan, 1883; one in Polk county, Wisconsin; one in Nysted, 
Nebraska; and one in Lincoln county, Minnesota, 1888. 

The school in Polk county failed immediately for lack of sup- 
port; while the others have always been considerably embarrassed 
financially, and the attendance at any one of them has not 
averaged thirty pupils a year. The total contribution by Danish 
laymen in America towards the building and maintenance of 
these schools up to 1894, aside from actual tuition, paid during 
the whole timxC does not amount to $10,000. Considering that 



24 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

at the time of the establishment of the Elk Horn high school 
there were at least sixty thousand Danes in America, and that in 
1890 there were a hundred thirty-two thousand, the support 
which they have given the high schools is exceedingly small. 
The influence which the high schools have exerted on the Danes in 
America is still smaller. It is safe to say that not one of a 
thousand of the persons in the United States of Danish parentage, 
has attended one of these schools; and that the average time of 
attendance has not been more than four months. This being the 
case, the influence exerted by these schools on those who have at- 
tended, as well as on those who have not attended, must be al- 
most infinitesimal. Moreover, there is no prospect that this in- 
fluence will increase in the future, because they are not the kind 
of schools favored by the Danes here, and all the efforts of the 
Grundtvigian ministers can not make them so. The case of the 
Elk Horn school seems to prove this most conclusively. Since 
1890, when it was reorganized so as to give prominence to the 
English branches, the attendance has more than tripled. In 
1893-9-1, it had an enrollment of one hundred seventy-eight,' 
while all the other schools run on the Grundtvigian plan had no 
increase whatever, their total enrollment for the year amount- 
ing to only seventy-six; this, in spite of the fact that the 
Grundtvigian ministers, who were still largely in the majority, 
strongly opposed the Elk Horn school and favored the others. 

THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOL. 

To keep the children within the fold of the Danish Lutheran 
Church was the desire common to all the Danish ministers. But 
here, as in the case of the high schools, the Grundtvigian idea 
that this could be done only by maintaining the Danish spirit, 
language and tradition was still the dominant one. Indeed it 
was commonly asserted by them that it was next to impossible for 
a Dane to be a good Christian and renounce either his language 
or his allegiance to his mother country. They found it difficult, 
however, to convince their parishioners of the necessity and 
utility of their scheme of education, which consisted in an attempt 
to supplant the common school with a Danish parochial school, 

' Catalogue of Elk Horn College for 1893-94. 



Danish Parocliial Schools. 25 

in which the Danish language, history and traditions should be 
taught in connection with Lutheran doctrines, as interpreted 
by Grundtvig, while the English branches were to be relegated 
to the position of incidental studies. The common arguments 
used in favor of this plan were, that since the public school did 
not give religious instruction, it omitted one of the most essen- 
tial objects of education; besides, in the public school most of 
the teachers were either "infidels" or "sectarians" who were 
prone to poison the children's mental food with doubts and 
false doctrine. Furthermore, the discipline and the whole 
moral atmosphere of the public school destroyed the innocence 
and sweetness of childhood, and the reverence for parental au- 
thority. Several plans for obtaining men and means for these 
schools were brought forward. One of the earliest and most 
feasible of all was to make the high school something of a 
teachers' seminary, and then organize a society whose aim should 
be to agitate the question among the people and raise the 
necessary funds. This plan failed, partly because few students 
stayed at the high school long enough to qualify themselves for 
the work of teaching, but mostly because the people in general 
refused to give it any substantial support. The society which 
was to prepare the way lived only one year. 1879-80, having 
accomplished nothing beyond the collecting of about one hundred 
and fifty dollars. When disbanded, it was admitted by its 
founders to be a failure. Another plan proposed was to get 
control of the public school in districts where Danes were in the 
majority, engage a Danish teacher qualified to teach both public 
and parochial schools, and give him a good salary for teaching 
the public school, so he could afford to teach the parochial school 
at a small salary, during the vacation of the former, which was 
to be as long as the law would allow. This plan, like the first 
one, came to nothing. No Danes could be found qualified to do 
the work required; and the high schools, which might have 
done something along this line, neglected to adapt themselves 
to the work. Besides this, there were but few districts in 
which the Danes were in the majority, and in these districts 
they were usually unable to agree on any scheme of education. 
In fact, nothing whatever of a practical nature has been done 



23 Bllle — A. History of the Danes in America. 

along the line of parochial schools; and the results attained by 
these schools are correspondingly insignificant. Though there 
are no definite statistics on this point, it is safe to say that not 
more than six parochial schools established by this church can 
lay any claim to permanency, and that less than one thousand 
Danish children in this country have attended these schools long 
enough to become biased along the line of Grundtvigian thought. 
This failure of the high schools and parochial schools is 
probably in part due to a lack of system and of agreement 
among the ministers; but its main cause is found in the almost 
total indifference of the Danes, at large, toward these schools. 
Had there been on an average three thousand Danes in hearty 
sympathy with the cause, thej' would and could have given a 
more substantial support both in money and men than has been 
given. This indifference is not due to any lack of agitation on 
the subject. The Grundtvigian ministers have had a fair oppor- 
tunity to reach a large number of their countrymen. They 
have been located for years in the most populous Danish 
settlements; they have had the majority in every church con- 
ference; and have held almost uninterrupted control of the 
organ of the church, Kirkelig Samler^ besides receiving the 
unqualified support of the Danish society for American mis- 
sions and ol the secular Danish- American newspaper, Bannevirke. 
There have never been lacking enthusiasts among them who 
have used every means at their command to propagate their 
particular views; while the opposition, within the church at 
least, did not become active before 1887, and then only as a 
small minority. 

THE COLONIZATION SCHEME, 

This scheme was adopted for the purpose of gathering the 
Danes into a few large settlements, which was thought to be one 
of the most effective means of strengthening the church and 
maintaining the Danish language and sentiment. The first 
settlement was established in Lincoln county, Minnesota. Here 
the church secured an option on 35,000 acres of land from a 
land comipany. The company agreed to sell this land to Danes 
only during the first three years. The first year the land was 



The Colonization Scheme. 27 

to be sold at an average price of seven dollars per acre, and no 
greater advance than fifty cents per. acre should be made during 
each of the following years. Besides this the company promised 
to donate 320 acres for the support of churches and high 
schools when one hundred actual settlers had been secured. 
For these privileges the church promised to use its influence in 
securing settlers. This settlement, in spite of considerable 
bickering and quarreling between the land agent, the church 
and the settlers, was fairly successful. The one hundred settlers 
were secured within a year, and at present the settlement con- 
tains about a thousand Danes who are maintaining a high 
school, a parochial school and a church. It is a settlement 
apparently as Grundtvigian and Danish as any existing in the 
United States. An attempt was made in 1888 to establish a 
settlement in Logan county, in the extreme westei'n part of 
Kansas. On the invitation of the Union Pacific Railroad 
company the land committee of the church went out and in- 
spected the land during the month of May. They were com- 
pletely captivated with the fertility of the soil and the salubrity 
of the climate. They secured an option on four townships of 
land, to be sold to Danes at from four to six dollars an acre. 
They then proceeded to extol the advantages of the place, lay- 
ing special stress on the fiction that the rainfall, which at 
present was quite sufficient, would still farther increase as the 
land was brought under cultivation. This, however, proved a 
mistaken theory, and the colony dried up in its infancy, while 
the reputation of the ministers as practical farmers and coloniz- 
ers was badly damaged. This was the last attempt on the part of 
the church as an organization to form settlements. The idea 
however has not been abandoned, but has been taken up by the 
Dansk Folkesamfund (the society of the Danish people). This 
society has located two more settlements, one in Clark county, 
Wisconsin, and another in Wharton county, Texas. As yet these 
settlements are both in their infancy; like the settlement in 
Kansas, they are the cause of much newspaper correspondence of 
a decidedly unfriendly character, in which disappointed land 
agents are taking a prominent part, making it appear that the 
land selected is worthless and that the land committee was 



28 Bille — A. History of the Danes in America. 

very incompetent if not positively dishonest; and these opinions 
are being duly noticed and emphasized by opponents of the 
Dansk Folkesamfund. It is doubtful indeed if these attempts at 
settlement have done as much to unite the Danes as the ill 
feeling created thereby has done to separate them. 

THE DANSK FOLKESAMFUND. 

This society was established in 1887, under the auspices of a 
number of ministers and laymen of Grundtvigian tendencies. 

The aim of this society is set forth in its constitution in the 
following language: "We establish this society in the belief 
that there is a need for an organization which will unite all the 
Danes in America who desire to maintain the Danish character 
and wish to aid in the labor of increasing our spiritual inher- 
itance and making it fruitful, not alone for our own benefit or for 
that of our fatherland, but also for the benefit of the land to 

which we are now united by the strongest of ties 

When we Danes in America wish to perpetuate in America what 
is Danish, it is partly because of the inborn love we have for 
all the things that belong to our fatherland; but it is also because 
we are convinced that by so doing we are advancing the best 
interest of the land to which we now belong. When it is ad- 
mitted that the meeting of people from all nations, on American 
soil, there to communicate with one another in the English 
language, is an historic event of first importance, it is mainly 
because the various nationalities thereby secure an opportunity 
to communicate to one another the results of their best thoughts 
and labors. In oi'der that such an interchange may take place 
it is necessary that each nationality maintain its own language 
and remain in intimate association with the mother country, 
for only in this way is it capable of ti-ansmitting its posses- 
sions to others. We believe the Danish nation has a spiritual 
inheritance not wholly without value to humanity in general, 
and we wish to contribute our share toward human advance- 
ment. " 

To advance the interests of humanity in general, then, is the 
chief end of this society, and to keep in touch with the language and 
life of Denmark the chief condition necessary for reaching this aim. 



The Dansk Folkesamfund. 29 

But in trying to fulfill the condition the aim seems to be lost 
sight of ; nothing whatever is done to master the English language 
or become acquainted with American institutions, while every 
effort is made to maintain all that is Danish and foster exclu- 
sion from life in this country. ' Two branches of this society 
have been established, one in this country and one in Denmark. 
The conditions for membership are that a person should be of 
Danish parentage and not opposed to tha Lutheran church. The 
work of the society so far has consisted (1) in establishing local 
societies, the members of which hold regular meetings for the 
discussion of subjects relating to Denmark and whatever is 
Danish; (2) in founding a library of Danish books to be loaned 
on the payment of a small fee to any one capable of reading the 
Danish language; (3) in publishing a paper, Kors og Stjoerne 
(Cross and Stars), devoted to an interchange of thought between 
the members in Denmark and America; (4) in establishing set- 
tlements for Danes in America; (5) in directing Danish immi- 
grants to these or other Danish settlements ; (6) in sending 
Danish lecturers of some prominence to Danish settlements; (7) 
in organizing excursions to Denmark of Danes in this country, 
especially of American birth, for the purpose of initiating them 
in the life_there and strengthening their love for whatever is 
Danish. | There has also been a general attempt on the part of this 
society to support the high schools, parochial schools and 
churches; but the efforts along these lines have not produced 
any noticeable results, except in the case of the churches; and 
here it was far from accomplishing what was intended, for this 
society and its methods of working immediately aroused a storm 
of opposition from the ministers of Inner Mission proclivities. 
They claimed it was merely a scheme on the part of the Grundt- 
vigians to create a party in every congregation in favor of their 
ideas, and thus to drive out all the ministers who did not agree 
with theriTTI yit was almost the only subject discussed at the an- 
nual meeting of 1887, and the discussion was so bitter that the 
ministers themselves seem to have been ashamed of it; for in- 
stead of having the proceedings published in Kirkelig Sarnler^ 
a special pamphlet was issued for the purpose, something which 
has not been done before or since. No conclusion in the matter 



30 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

was reached, however, in this meeting, and the only result of 
all the discussion was to strengthen the suspicion and ill-feeling 
already existing; and from that time on there was not a 
semblance of harmony in the Danish church in America. 

The members of the Inner Mission society now began an ac- 
tive crusade against all the plans of the Grundtvigians. Doc- 
trinal differences were emphasized more and more, and the 
general indifference to the Grundtvigian scheme of education 
was changed to active opposition. 

Rev. P. Vig is the principal exponent of the policy of the 
Inner Mission faction, while Rev. F. L. Grundtvig,' son of the 
great Danish reformer, is the exponent and leader of the Grundt- 
vigians. The controversy was opened by P. Vig in an article 
written by him for Kirkelig Samler of June 17, 1888, in which 
he sets forth his ideas on the subject of education as follows: 
"There are many whose greatest desire it is that the language 
which is their mother-tongue shall also be the mother-tongue of 
their children, but feel, nevertheless, compelled to admit that 
this desire cannot be realized. And we should indeed serve 
ourselves and our children poorly by doing all in our power to 

'F. L. Grundtvig, the acknowledged leader of the Grundtvigians in 
America, is the youngest son of the great Danish reformer, N. F. S. 
Grundtvig. He came to America in 1881, after having taken his degree at 
the University of Copenhagen. In 1883 he accepted the pastorate of a 
small Danish congregation in Clinton, Iowa, which position he has held 
ever since. He first made himself prominent by a violent attack on secret 
societies in general and on Dansk Brodersamfund in particular; this was 
a secret society of the most innocent kind, established for social purposes 
and mutual aid, and without any political or religious aims whatever. The 
attack was based wholly on the fact that it was a secret society, and that 
in its ritual the name of God was used and prayers were offered in a man- 
ner which Grundtvig considered blasphemous. The outcome of this at- 
tack was a quarrel between the church and Brodersamfundet (the Brother- 
hood), in which as usual the church was the loser. From the beginning 
of his ministerial career Grundtvig has been an ardent supporter of the 
high schools and of all means for maintaining what was Danish. He was 
a prominent member of the first land committee, and one of the leaders in 
the organization of Dansk Folkesamfund, and soon became its actual leader 
and mouthpiece. He is a voluminous writer of both poetry and prose, 
but as yet he has produced nothing of any special merit. Most of his 



The Dansk Folkesamfund. 81 

prevent them from becoming Americanized; for the maintaining 
of the Danish tongue is as far from being the greatest blessing 
as the getting of the English is the greatest curse. ./Even if the 
Danish language is lost to our posterity, they might still retain 
all that is good and true in the Danish character; for just as a 
man can take his material inheritance into a foreign country, so 
he can take his spiritual inheritance into a foreign tongue. 
We older people must remember that we can hardly imagine 
oui'selves in our children's places. They have a fatherland 
which is not ours. In a measure it is impossible for them to be 
Danes ; for they lack the Danish environments, and in a measure 
the Danish tongue must always be a foreign tongue to them. 
To keep the children born in this country from coming in con- 
tact with its language and life is a violation of nature which 
will at last revenge itself. " / ; 

This sentiment was promptly attacked by F. L. Grundtvig 
and other Grundtvigians. They did not, however, stop at this, 
but made the subject a personal one, thereby arousing a personal 
animosity which did much to intensify the subsequent quarrel. 

The Grundtvigians continued to push their high schools, 

poems are decidedly prosy, a large share of them being argumentative, 
written to prove his own theories, or to disprove those of his opponent. 
He is very prone to the use of sarcasm and bitter personal attacks; though 
he sometimes apologizes for his harsh expressions, he usually repeats the 
offense when the next opportunity offers itself, and through this unfor- 
tunate trait of character he has made more enemies than through the ad- 
vocacy of his peculiar religious and social theories. 

But whatever may be the faults of his character and theories, it can- 
not be denied that he is honest, fearless, and unselfish in his labors for the 
cause he considers right. He has never in all his labors in this country 
copsidered his own advantage in the matter of money or position . He 
might have stayed in Denmark and been sure of an easy, paying position; 
and he might have gone back in 1894, as pastor of the Marble Church in 
Copenhagen, one of the most ^honorable clerical positions in Denmark, and 
one in which he could have been at perfect liberty to preach just what he 
believed. But he has chosen to stay with his American congregation on a 
salary scarcely sufficient to support him, with a record of defeat behind 
him and almost certain failure before him; and that, too, though he con- 
siders himself as an exile here, and feels at home nowhere but in Den- 
mark. 



32 Bille — A History of the Banes in America. 

while in 1890 the Inner Mission Society found an expression of 
their ideas in the reorganization of the Elk Horn high school 
on the American plan; and that this change was approved by 
the laity is seen from the substantial increase in the attend- 
ance at this school already referred to.' This did not tend to 
allay the ill feeling already existing. The Grundtvigians con- 
sidered the change at Elk Horn as an act of treachery, for now 
the school for which they had worked so hard and from which 
they had hoped so much had been taken out of their hands and 
made a fortress of the enemy, and that too by a man whom they 
at one time had counted as one of their own. Meanwhile an- 
other cause of dissension had arisen. The instructors of the 
theological school in Polk county, "Wisconsin, Th. Helvig and 
P. Vig, had become entangled in a violent doctrinal quarrel 
which spread to the rest of the ministers, and it seemed as 
though the society was hopelessly divided ; but at an extra meet- 
ing held at Waupaca, Wisconsin, 1891, a truce was patched up. 
It was agreed that Grundtvig should use his influence in dis- 
banding Dansk Folkesamfund, that the Elk Horn school should 
be used as a theological seminary, and that Vig and Helvig 
should return to their posts as theological instructors. But 
Dansk Folkesamfund refused to disband ; the people at Elk Horn 
did not wish to see their school changed; and Vig resigned his 
position on the plea that he could not conscientiously work to- 
gether with Helvig, and again the quarrel was on, more bitter 
than ever. Finally in 1893 the Inner Mission ministers seceded 
and formed a separate society. But this separation was one of 
ministers mostly; the congregations are as yet woefully mixed, 
and there seems but little hope of getting them divided on a 
basis of Grundtvigians and Inner Mission, for though there are 
enough of each faction in every congregation to make it uncom- 
fortable for the other, there are not enough or they are not suf- 
ficiently enthusiastic to form separate congregations with 
permanent ministers and churches, at least no such congrega- 
tions have yet been found. 

One of the immediate effects of this controversy has been to 
stimulate somewhat the languid interest of the laymen in church 

^Ante, p. 24. 



The DansJc Folkesamfund. 33 

affairs; but in the main it is a ministers' quarrel and the con- 
servative common-sense members of their congregations look upon 
it with decided disapproval, while the large majority are not in- 
terested enough to find out what the quarrel is about or to 
range themselves on either side. There is a possibility that the 
split will in the end make the Danish church somewhat more 
efficient than it has been so far; for hereafter the Inner Mission 
faction will have an opportunity to pursue its somewhat aggres- 
sive systematic policy without interference by the Grundtvig- 
ians, which will be a great advantage in carrying out its plans. 
Besides, this faction will undoubtedly in the coui'se of a few 
years have formed a firm alliance with the Danish Church Asso- 
ciation, a society organized in 1884 by six Danish ministers 
and their congregations, which up to that time had belonged to 
the Norwegian-Danish Conference. In 1890 this society had a 
membership of 3,493, and church property amounting to $44,775. 
They have established a school at Blair, Nebraska, and this as 
well as all the church work of the association is conducted on 
the same plan and in the same spirit that prevail in the Norwe- 
gian church societies. But the fact that only 3,493 out of the 
132,543 Danes in America in 1890 belonged to this society, 
shows that it cannot be very popular with the majority. The 
two societies when united will not at the utmost contain more 
than 10,000 members. These, however, will be likely to work 
together more harmoniously and more earnestly than the 
Grundtvigians and Inner Mission people, and may succeed in 
maintaining some quite efficient schools and a few united con- 
gregations. 

As far as the Grundtvigians are concerned, their past seems 
to prove conclusively that there is no future for them in this 
country. They will get but little support from the old settle- 
ments ; they are unable to establish new ones from the Danes 
already in this country. Neither can they hope much from an 
immigration from Denmark, for in the first place such an im- 
migration is not liable to be very extensive in the near future, 
because the social and economic conditions in Denmark are and 
promise to be fairly good; besides this, the Grundtvigians will 
be, as they have been, the last ones to emigrate, for they are 



34 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

more attached to their native land than are their opponents. It is 
this very fact which accounts largely for the striking indiffer- 
ence with which Grundtvigianism is regarded by the Danes in 
America, while in Denmark it receives their strongest support. 
Yet in spite of the present weakness and past failures of the 
Grundtvigians in this country, they have, nevertheless, exerted 
a decided influence on the Danes here, especially on those who 
have congregated in settlements. But this influence has been 
mostly of a negative character. For, though they could not be 
persuaded to support the Grundtvigian schools, they were quite 
easily persuaded from making any special effort to get an Eng. 
lish education. The fact that the minister was suspicious of 
the common school was quite a strong argument in the eye of 
the thrifty parent for keeping his boy at home to help on the 
farm instead of sending him to school, and on the whole from 
taking any special interest in the public school beyond that of 
keeping the expense of its maintenance as low as possible. 
The result to-day of this policy shows itself in a condition 
bordering very closely on illiteracy among a great number of 
young people who have grown up in the Danish settlements. 
They have failed to get a fair command of either the Danish or 
English language, because, as a rule, there was no parochial 
school to give the necessary instruction in Danish, and they did 
not avail themselves sufficiently of the advantages offered by the 
American schools to gain a mastery of the English. But the 
policy of slighting the English branches in the Grundtvigian 
high schools has had a more tangible, and if possible, a more 
detrimental influence on the life of the Danes in America. It 
has alienated the young Danish immigrants from the church 
and left them to shift for themselves in the acquiring of an 
English education, which usually meant a failure on their part 
to get such an education. They did not care and could not be 
made to care for the education offered them by the Grundtvig- 
ian high schools. Thus they were left out of touch with the 
church along a line on which it had the greatest opportunity 
for helping them and extending its influence over them. They 
could find no American school adapted to their needs, and though 
most of them were ambitious to master the English language 



Tlie Dansk Folkesamfund. 35 

they were usually discouraged in their first attempts and gave 
it up altogether. It is a rare thing to find in a Danish settle- 
ment a man who can carry on the ordinary business transactions 
in the English language. In fact such a man is sometimes king 
among his countrymen. They are absolutely dependent upon 
him in their intercourse with the world where the reading and 
writing of the English language is required. He may run their 
political caucuses, their township and school affairs to suit him. 
self, and this in spite of the fact that he is not acceptable to a 
majority of the voters, for they have no other choice. If it is 
a rare thing to find a man in a Danish settlement who can do 
business in the English language, it is a still rarer thing to find 
one qualified to teach a district school. Even in districts ex- 
clusively Danish, a Dane is seldom employed as teacher.' A 
superstition exists in some settlements that a Dane is incap- 
able of acquiring the accomplishments necessary to teach a 
country school; and that, if through unusual mental endowment 
and industry any one should actually succeed in this, then the 
" Yankee county superintendent" would nevertheless deny him 
a certificate on account of his nationality. 

It is, however, not fair to lay the whole blame for this state of 
things on the Grundtvigian ministers; because there exists among 
the Danes, especially in this country, a very marked tendency 
to self-depreciation, a lack of confidence in themselves individu- 
ally and in their countrymen generally, for which the Grundtvig- 
ian ministers are not responsible. But these ministers were 
the natural leaders of their people, the only ones who had an op- 
portunity. There was need of such leadership, too, for the great 
mass of Danes who have emigrated belong to the laboring classes, 
who have had little or no training in the management of educa- 
tional affairs. They could not, though they had a fair idea of 
what they wanted, take the initiative in the matter themselves. 
And if the Grundtvigian ministers, instead of trying to force their 
own ideas through, had met the desire of their people for an Eng- 
lish education, they could have built up a system of schools which 
would have given them a hold on the most enterprising and 

' Since the Elk Horn school began to prepare its students for the work 
of teaching, this state of affairs is somewhat modified . 



36 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

ambitious young Danes, thus securing them as a support for 
their church, at the same time giving them a training which 
would have made them more useful to themselves and the society 
in which they have chosen to live. While the net result of 
the educational efforts of the Grundtvigians so far consists in 
the securing of a few enthusiasts and sentimentalists who by 
their very system of education have been unfitted for taking any 
active part in affairs in this country, for they have taken a nar- 
row, one-sided view of Grundtvig's teaching, accepting the emo- 
tional side and completely rejecting the practical. Yet, in jus- 
tice to them, it must be admitted that their main fault consists 
in adopting a mistaken ideal and espousing a hopeless cause. 
Their intentions were of a wholly philanthropic and disinterested 
nature. Many of them have made great sacrifices both in money 
and social position in order to carry out their ideas; and it is 
after all to be regretted that they did not adopt some more prac- 
tical means for carrying out their ideas among the American 
people at large, for they are full of a spirit none too common 
among us here. They could have done a great work, if, together 
with some good practical English instruction, they could have 
transmitted to the Danes, at large, in this country, a touch of 
their own idealism. There is need of something to tone down 
the all-absorbing materialism to which the immigrant is by na- 
ture predisposed, and which is so strongly re-enforced by the en- 
vironment in this country. Though the Grundtvigians are in a 
measure to blame for the social and religious failures of the 
Danes in this country, they are not the sole nor the main cause 
of this failure, — no matter what church or educational policy 
had been pursued, it would not have had the power to make even 
a fairly united nationality of the Danes. They have shown conclu- 
sively that they have had but little desire to establish any so- 
ciety or church modeled on the society and church existing in 
Denmark. Their object in coming to this country was to better 
their material condition. They left Denmark at a time when the 
spirit of national pride was at a low ebb, when all the political 
hopes and aspirations of the nation had been disappointed, and 
when the chui'ch was hopelessly divided against itself. There 
was nothing in their native land they could look to with special 



The Dansk Folkesamfund. 37 

pride, no one thing on which they could unite as a basis of their 
common nationality. The question naturally arises, would it 
have been better for the Danes individually if like the Norwe- 
gians they had formed compact settlements and a strong church; 
would such a condition have been more favorable for the de- 
velopment of good men and good citizens than the present scat- 
tered and disorganized condition? 

It is frequently alleged that settlements, churches and 
parochial schools, as established by the foreigners in this coun- 
try, form the chief evils of immigration, by perpetuating con- 
ditions which produce, a heterogeneous population with aims 
and interests antagonistic to republican institutions and a 
stable state of society. This belief, however, is undoubtedly an 
erroneous one, arising out of a misconception of the real needs of 
our foreign population. These settlements, churches and schools, 
instead of being a menace to our state, form one of the main 
safeguards of this country against the dangers accompanying 
the large influx of people of various nationalities. A large 
number of the immigrants are young people, and, as far as 
character is concerned, are still in the formative stage. Nearly all 
of them come from quiet, staid communities where they have a 
recognized standing and the pleasure of social intercourse with 
their equals, and where they are now and then touched by the 
elevating influences exercised by the church, the school or some 
other social institution whose work and sentiment they can 
understand and appreciate. Their social circle holds them re- 
sponsible for their conduct, stimulating their desire for respect- 
ability, thus constituting one of the most potent checks to 
the vicious impulses that at times are liable to dominate the 
conduct of people left entirely to themselves. It is this func- 
tion of stimulating the good and checking the evil, so necessary 
for the development and maintenance of decent character and 
good citizenship, which the settlement and church of the for- 
eigner performs, a function which no other institution in this 
country could perform, yet one of invaluable service to the 
country as well as to the immigrant. There is no situation 
much more hopeless and demoralizing than that of the ordinary 
immigrant, unacquainted with the English language and totally 



38 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

isolated from some staid, sober societj'- of his countrymen, in 
which the conditions of his native land are in a measure main- 
tained, and where his social standing is dependent on good 
conduct. In the first place, if he is isolated from such a 
community he is obliged to play the part of a mute for almost 
a year after his arrival, save only for such conversation as he 
can carry on in his native language with the horses and cows 
about him, and except for such oaths and other strong expres- 
sions in the English language as readily fix themselves in the 
memory of the foreigner, and for the repetition of which there 
seem to be so many urgent occasions for both native and 
foreigner. Then again, there is the depressing effect of his 
social position among the natives. He is made to feel most 
keenly that he is a being of a lower order, a sort of beast of 
burden, tolerated only on account of his burden-bearing capaci- 
ties. He is excluded from all social gatherings of a respectable 
character, either on account of language or nationality. He is 
sometimes made the object of pit}^ but more often of ridicule. 
As a rule there is only one place, the saloon, where he is re- 
ceived on terms of social equality, and where something is done 
to make him feel at home and at his ease. It is a rare thing 
indeed that the young foreigner who cuts loose fi'om the settle- 
ment and church of his countrymen, comes under the better in- 
fluences of American society. He is more often affected by the 
influences already mentioned plus that exercised by anuinber of 
boon companions, who like himself are isolated from all that is 
elevating, either foreign or American. The character of citizen 
formed under such conditions is without question far more 
dangerous to this country than that evolved in the most isolated 
"priest-ridden" foreign settlement, where at least the sentiment 
"I am my brother's keeper" is still alive and active. In fact, 
it is from contemplating the effect of the process of American- 
ization described above that the foreign clergyman finds one of 
his chief reasons for excluding his flock from American influ- 
ence. Being unacquainted with Americaii conditions and out of 
sympathy with them, to begin with, and both from preference 
and education of an uninvestigative turn of mind, he reasons 
from the facts immediately about him; and, seeing only the evil 



Bibliography. 39 

effects of American influence, he fails to realize the fact that it 
might be used for good. That the minister might advance the 
cause of his church, and increase the happiness and usefulness 
of his countrymen, by helping them to choose the good and 
avoid the evil in American society, is very far from being com- 
prehended by those who dominate the policy of the church. The 
average clergyman is, however, no more " ignorant and bigoted" 
in his views than the man who fails to see any good in the 
efforts of the foreigners to maintain the language, manners and 
customs of their native land; for such critic does not realize 
that the tenacious clinging of the foreigners to things which 
in their childhood they were taught to hold sacred reveals a 
most valuable characteristic, that it shows a stability of char- 
acter in the foreigners which makes them much more desirable 
citizens than they would be if they could throw off all love for 
and allegiance to their native land and language as easily and 
with as little regret as they would discard a worn-out coat. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Anklager mod HOjskolerne, M. Stenstrup. (A statement and a 

refutation of the charges made against the high schools. ) 
Beck, Vilhelm. — Fra Livets Kilde. (A collection of sermons.) 
Boyesen, H. H. — Story of Norway. 
Braun, Chr. — Strideu i Folkehojskolesagen. 
Brun, H.— Biskop N. F. S. Grundtvigs Levnetslob fra 1839. 
Catalogues or courses of study for the following schools (1893-4.) 

1. Norwegian Synod. 

Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. 

Lutheran Normal School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 

2. United Norwegian Church. 

Augsburg Seminary, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Augustana College, Canton, South Dakota. 

Grand Forks Academy, Grand Forks, North Dakota. 

Normal School, Madison, Minnesota. 

St. Olaf's College, Northfield, Minnesota. 



40 Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 

Circular and Map of Danish Colony, El Campo, Texas. 

Circular of Danish Colony, Withee, Wisconsin. 

Constitution and By-laws of the Dansk Brodersamfund. 

Constitution and By-laws of the Foreningen Dania. 

Danuevirke, 1888-94. (Weekly Danish paper of Grundtvigian 
tendencies; editor, M. Hoist, Cedar Falls, Iowa.) 

Danskeren, 1892-94. (Weekly Danish paper of anti-Grundt- 
vigian tendencies; editor, N. I. Jersild, Neenah, Wis.) 

Denmark; Its History and Topography, Language, Literature, 
Fine Arts, Social Life and Finance. Editor, H. Weitemeyer. 

Grundtvig, N. F. S. 
Kirke Spejl. 

Kirkens Gjenmaele (The Reply of the Church — a contro- 
versial essay attacking the rationalistic doctrines of 
Prof. Clausen of the University of Copenhagen). 
Paaske Lilien (The Easter Lily — a religious poem). 
Troste-Brev til Danmark. (Letter of Consolation to Denmark 
— a poem, written at the close of the war of 1864, in 
which the Germans are very bitterly attacked and the 
Danish nation made an object of veneration.) 

Kirkelig Maanedstidende, 1857-65. (Official organ of the Nor- 
wegian Synod.) 

Kirkelig Samler, 1872-95. (Official organ of the Danish 
Lutheran Church in America.) 

Kirkelig Statistik. — H. Westergaard. 

Kirkeligt Vennemode i Kjobenhavn, 1865, Koster and Lind- 
berg, editors. (Church Conference of Friends at Copen- 
hagen — a report of a meeting held by the friends and 
sympathizers of N. F. S. Grundtvig.) 

Kors og Stjaerne, 1888-95. (Official oi'gan of Dansk Folke- 
samfund; editor, Jacob A. Askov, Denmark.) 

Nelson, O. M. — History of the Scandinavians in the United States. 

Pontopidan, H. — Muld (A realistic novel dealing with the life 
of the common people and especially with the influence of 
the High School, and the Inner Mission and Grundt- 
vigian movements. The author is acknowledged to be 
one of the best of this class of writers in Denmark). 



Bibliography. 41 

Eegler for Dansk Folkesamfund ; Amerika (Rules for the Danish 
People's Society in America). 

Reports of the Annual Convention of the Swedish Augustana 
Synod, 1860-86 and 1893-94. 

Reports of the Annual Meetings of the Norwegian Synod, 
1857-94. 

Reports of the Annual Meetings of the United Norwegian 
Church, 1890-95. 

Sidgwick. — Story of Denmark. 

Stonbaek, K. B. — K. M. Kold (A biographical sketch of one of 
the pioneers in the High School movement in Den- 
mark). 

Stenstrup, M. — Anklager mod Hojskolerne. 

Thomas. — Sweden and the Swedes. 

United States Census Population 1850-90. 



42 



Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 



APPENDIX. 
(The following statistics were obtained from the U. S. census of 1890.) 



I. 



Contiguous counties in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and the 
two Dakotas east of the Dakota river, each county having a pop- 
ulation of more than 500 Norwegians. 



WISCONSIN 

Ashland 947 

Bayfield 1,085 

Douglas 1, 058 

Chippewa 1, 379 

Burnett 497 

Polk 1,311 

Barron 2, 373 

St. Croix 2,638 

Dunn 3,167 

Eau Claire 3, 897 

Clark 605 

Pierce 1, 835 

Pepin and Buffalo 1, 232 

Trempealeau 4, 118 



Jackson 2, 507 

Monroe 837 

La Crosse 4, 371 

Juneau 518 

Vernon 3, 387 

Crawford 801 

Grant 4OO 

Iowa 904 

LaFayette 927 

Green 623 

Dane 6,728 

Rock 1,632 

Walworth 515 

Racine 949 



MINNESOTA. 



Duluth (city) 2,389 

Washington 591 

Anoka 1,527 

Ramsey 3,636 

Hennepin 13, 014 

Rice 1,288 

Goodhue 3,485 

Olmsted 820 

Dodge 1,044 

Waseca 646 

Steele 527 

Houston 1,934 



Redwood ^?^ 

Brown 875 

Yellow Medicine 2, 384 

Renville 1,980 

Lac-qui-parle 2, 641 

Chippewa 1, 995 

Kandiyohi 2,562 

Meeker 671 

Big Stone 466 

Swift 1,822 

Stevens 692 

Pope 2,623 



statistics. 



43 



MINNESOTA — continued. 



Fillmore 4,171 

Freeborn 2,600 

Mower 1, 787 

Faribault 1,264 

Blue Earth 998 

Jackson 1, 232 

Eock 1,049 

Watonwan 1,042 

Cottonwood 785 

Murray 676 

Pipestone 253 

Lincoln 558 

Lyon 988 



Stearns 831 

Grant 1,770 

Douglas 1, 569 

Todd 774 

Wilkin 641 

Otter Tail 5, 955 

Clay 2,700 

Becker 1, 527 

Norman 3, 821 

Polk 6,861 

Marshall 1,717 

Kittson 672 



IOWA. 



Clayton 633 

Allamakee 1,283 

Winneshiek 3,347 

Mitchell 548 



Worth 1,910 

Winnebago 1, 871 

Sioux City 1,758 



SOUTH DAKOTA. 



Union 612 

Clay 572 

Yankton 1,054 

Lincoln 1,324 



Minnehaha 2, 953 

Moody 588 

Brookings 1, 546 



NORTH DAKOTA. 



Sargent 732 

Richland 1, 837 

Ransom 947 

Cass 2, 428 

Barnes 1, 150 

Traill 3,572 



Steele 1,118 

Griggs 822 

Grand Forks 3,518 

Nelson 1,098 

Ramsey 676 

Walsh 2,523 



44 



Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 



II. 



Isolated counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, 
each having a population of more than 500 Norwegians. 



ILLINOIS. 



Cook 22,365 

DeKalb 580 

Kendall 1,099 



Grundy 880 

La Salle 1,718 



WISCONSIN. 



Columbia . , 

Door 

Manitowoc. 
Marinette. . 



862 

962 

900 

867 

Milwaukee 1, 904 



Portage 1,048 

Shawano 709 

Waupaca 1, 270 

Winnebago 562 



IOWA. 



Buena Vista 580 

Emmet 5a3 

Hamilton 1,613 

Webster 894 

Wright 529 

Humboldt 1,031 



Monona 548 

Woodbury 1, 947 

Polk 522 

Story 1,824 

Marshall 572 



MINNESOTA — None. 



statistics. 



45 



III. 

Contiguous counties in Northern Peninsula of Michigan, 
Wisconsin, and Minnesota, having a Swedish population of more 
than 500: 



MICHIGAN — NORTHERN PENINSULA. 



Delta 1,475 

Marquette 4,303 

Schoolcraft 559 



Menominee 4, 021 

Iron 719 

Gogebic 1, 769 



WISCONSIN. 



Florence 500 

Marinette 1, 407 

Ashland 1, 357 

Price 982 

Bayfield 774 

Douglas 1, 572 



Burnett 1,541 

Polk 1,600 

Barron 566 

St. Croix 694 

Pierce 1,281 

Pepin 739 



MINNESOTA, 



Duluth (city) 4, 102 

Carlton 901 

Aitkin 407 

Crow Wing 570 

Morrison 623 

Benton SOO 

Pine 966 

Kanabec 827 

Isanti 2, 758 

Chisago 3, 955 

Anoka 1,032 

Washington 3, 399 

Ramsey 12, 212 

Hennepin 20, 167 

Wright 2,550 

Meeker 3, 249 

Carver 1,236 

Dakota 799 

Goodhue 3, 695 

Sibley 1,134 



Blue Earth 822 

Nicollet 1, 619 

Renville 968 

McLeod 160 

Kandiyohi 2, 752 

Chippewa 523 

Swift 784 

Sherburne 512 

Stearns 511 

Pope 677 

Grant 878 

Douglas 2,521 

Otter Tail 2, 470 

Becker 731 

Clay 1,050 

Norman 24S 

Polk 2,241 

Marshall 2, 025 

Kittson 1,668 



46 



Bille — A History of the Danes in America. 



IV. 



Isolated counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa 
having a Swedish population of more than 500 : 



ILLINOIS, 



Cook 45,607 

Winnebago 6,204 

DeKalb 1,695 

Kane 3,252 

Will 2,U0 

Ford 1,189 

Bureau 1,807 

La Salle 758 



Henry 4,324 

Knox 4,697 

Peoria 623 

Warren 832 

Mercer 1, 322 

Rock Island (city) 4, 661 

McLean 624 



Door. 



WISCONSIN. 

589 1 Eau Claire 



546 



IOWA. 



Des Moines 1,973 

Webster 2,014 

Boone 2,385 



Hamilton 

Polk 

Sac 

Buena Vista. 
Pocahontas . . 



549 
2,107 
625 
899 
524 



Cherokee 529 

Woodbury 2, 402 

Crawford 517 

Montgomery 1, 468 

Page 1,220 

Pottawattomie 561 

Wapello 961 



MINNESOTA. 



Martin , 



587 



statistics. 47 



V. 



Contiguous counties in Iowa and Nebraska, having a Danish 
population of more than 500: 



IOWA. 



Audubon 1» 067 

Pottawattomie 1,922 



Shelby 1,347 



NEBRASKA. 

Washington 724 I Douglas 4, 714 

Dodge 623 I 



VI. 

Isolated counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and 
Nebraska having a Danish population of more than 500: 

ILLINOIS. 
Oook 7, 488 



WISCONSIN. 

Brown 819 

Winnebago 1, 210 

Waupaca 962 



Polk 844 

Racine 2, 893 

Kenosha 554 



IOWA. 

Black Hawk 645 I Clinton 951 

Buena Vista 512 I Woodbury 711 



NEBRASKA. 



Howard 1, 153 

Kearney 941 



Lancaster 505 



MINNESOTA. 



Freeborn 1, 633 

Hennepin 1, 731 

Ramsey 1,482 



Lincoln 613 

McLeod 546 

Steele 588 



48 Bille — A^History of the Danes in America 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. 

Map showing the distribution of the Scandinavian population 
in contiguous areas of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, 
Iowa, Nebraska, and the two Dakotas east of the Dakota river. 

A^, Norwegians; S, Swedes; I), Danes. The figures follow- 
ing indicate the population of each nationality. 



Trans. Wis Acad , Vol. X 




1 r \si>oi 

1 \SI57l- \Sr/-t ,A/94/ 

__ I ^S'iS7 



Plate I. 











: 3 IN America. 



